Lakers’ coach Byron Scott says Kobe Bryant will “probably” play some power forward

http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/07/27/lakers-coach-byron-scott-says-kobe-bryant-will-probably-play-some-power-forward/?ocid=Yahoo&partner=ya5nbcs



Lakers’ coach Byron Scott says Kobe Bryant will “probably” play some power forward
Kurt Helin Jul 27, 2015, 7:59 PM EDT



We knew that with a guard rotation of Jordan Clarkson, D’Angelo Russell and Lou Williams, the Lakers were going to slide Kobe Bryant over to the three for stretches this season. And when Lakers’ trainer Gary Vitti discussed it with him, Kobe’s reaction was “I can do that.” Which is probably Kobe’s reaction to every question he is ever asked — “Hey Kobe, could you land a 747?” — but in this case he certainly can do it if healthy.

But how about Kobe at as a small four?

Not sure how Kobe feels about it, but Lakers’ coach Byron Scott is thinking about it, he told David Aldridge of NBA.com (hat tip to NBA Reddit).

“The one thing that we wanted to do and accomplish through this draft and through free agency was to try and be a little more versatile, have some versatility. So I think (Clarkson, Russell, Williams) can definitely do that. Kobe can play one, two and three. There’s no doubt in my mind. And there’s some games. against some teams, where he’ll probably play four. With his tenaciousness, the way he guards people and when his mind is set, if I say ‘Kobe, you’ve got him,’ he takes that as a challenge. You know how he is. He’ll compete.”

This is a decent idea, one worth exploring, if it is situational (the Lakers tried it very, very briefly last season).

If the Lakers are playing the Toronto Raptors and they’ve gone small with DeMarre Carroll at the four, the Lakers can match that with Kobe. Same with the Wizards if they go small and slide Jared Dudley to the four. Orlando if they go small with Tobias Harris at the four. There are matchups where this could work for the Lakers — not for long stretches, playing against bigger guys would take a toll on Kobe’s body, but for 5-10 minutes it could work.

However, notice all the teams noted above are in the East. The problem is that in the West most of the teams have fours Kobe would simply not be able to match defensively — Anthony Davis, Blake Griffin, Serge Ibaka (or the Thunder go small with Kevin Durant), LaMarcus Aldridge, Zach Randolph, Dirk Nowitzki, Draymond Green, and the list goes on. The West is simply a different animal with the forward spots.

That’s why most of the Lakers’ minutes at the four will be split between Julius Randle and Brandon Bass. Still, I could see a short stretch with three shooters to space the floor, Kobe at the four and Bass at the five. It’s worth taking a look at in preseason and early in the season. Scott is right, versatility matters more and more in the NBA. We’ll see if he puts that plan into action.



bob
MY NOTE:  This is either nano-ball on steroids or Kobe's legs are really, really, really gone. Man. If Kobe had any thoughts of playing past this year he'll probably re-think that after he reads this.



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But Byron Scott is a b ball genius. Just look at all the teams he's coached to NBA titles.

If Kobe plays PF, how long before his first injury of the season? Should it be counted in minutes or seconds?

Sam

worcester wrote:But Byron Scott is a b ball genius. Just look at all the teams he's coached to NBA titles.

I don't think that slap against Byron is fair.
Coaches with talented players win games.
David Blatt and Steve Kerr were rookie coaches and their teams made the Finals.
Byron did coach NJ to two Finals appearances.
Other than those Nets teams, he has coached lousy New Orleans teams, Cleveland without Lebron and a terrible Lakers team.
Doc Rivers had a career coaching record under .500 and he pretty quickly turned into a championship coach...

Ok TJ, but if Byron plays Kobe at PF he's in need of treatment for early Alzheimer's, having forgotten what he knew as a Nets coach.

worcester wrote:Ok TJ, but if Byron plays Kobe at PF he's in need of treatment for early Alzheimer's, having forgotten what he knew as a Nets coach.

It would be a gimmick for a few minutes a game.
How many ultra small line ups did Boston go with this year? Many.
It is not uncommon for Chris Paul to guard LeBron or a PF for some periods in a game.
Kobe is smart enough to guard PF's for stretches.
I think Aldridge, Duncan, Nowitzki, etc would have no interest trying to guard Kobe on the other end of the court.
It would be a matchup difficulty on both sides of the court.

Yes, but laws of physics and medicine argue against Kobe playing against the big PF's of the West. I'd like to see Kobe play more, not rehab more.

worcester wrote:Yes, but laws of physics and medicine argue against Kobe playing against the big PF's of the West. I'd like to see Kobe play more, not rehab more.

Again, Kobe would be just as much of a match up difficulty for opposing PF's.
When Blake Griffin is out of the game, you don't think Kobe can guard Josh Smith who mostly wants to chuck long two's?
Do you really think that Terrance Jones or Dirk or most of the back up PF's in the West will dominate Kobe? I don't.
No, I don't want Kobe doing it for long stretches but traditional positions and old perceptions just don't matter much any more.
It's a different game now. (Thanks to Mike D'Antoni)  :-)

You miss my point. Kobe is more likely to get hurt against PF's, but do the Burger King thing. Have it your way.

worcester wrote:You miss my point. Kobe is more likely to get hurt against PF's, but do the Burger King thing. Have it your way.

That is just your opinion, not factual.
I do not agree that Kobe will get hurt against one player or another.
Two of his three injuries have been from no contact. (Achilles and knee)
His shoulder injury was a fluke injury, also from little contact.
I think Kobe has just as much of a chance of getting hurt from chasing around some SG.

I agree with tjmakz that the matchup goes both ways. Obviously he wont be play "PF", he will just be guarding their 4th biggest guy probably. The game is a matter of net points and if you gain 10 while your opponents gain 5 then you are good. In a way this is an example how basketball probably will evolve and possibly move more towards a "total basketball" (ala what the netherlands did in footbal with their total football), all positions and players are supposed to be somewhat interchangeable and all should be able to put pressure defending but also be able to handle the ball and score (this is for football but one can see how it could sort of work for basketball.)

I would not be surprised if great success could be had with a solid center (or like the call it in spanish, pivot) and 4 universal players being able to switch and hound everybody on defense and all be threats on offense.

not much difference to me than Paul George playing some PF at Indiana.